Euro 2020 clean up will cost ‘millions’ as beer bottles and flags fill the streets
Research by waste collection experts, BusinessWaste.co.uk, has shown that the clean-up bill for Euro 2020 final celebrations will end up costing millions.
It has been estimated that the clean up after the Euro 2020 final could cost “millions” as beer bottles, flags and more are seen strewn on the streets.
It was a triumphant run to the final by a team that captured the hearts of the nation and brought people together after a tough 15 months, but millions right across the UK have woken up this morning to the reality that Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions squad couldn’t quite clinch the win to bring home England’s first international victory since 1966.
The weight of a crushing defeat isn’t the only thing we’ve woken up to though.
With shocking scenes of litter piling up on the streets of central London and other major UK cities having emerged on social media this morning, research by waste collection experts, BusinessWaste.co.uk, has shown that the clean-up bill for Euro 2020 final celebrations will end up costing millions of pounds.
As well as the countless images and videos found on social media and in media outlets, a short video by TikTok user H0rridhenryz has gone viral this morning, showing the sheer scale of the litter left behind on the streets of the capital.
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“This is disgusting,” the video explained.
It was predicted prior to kick-off that local councils would struggle with the excess waste generated by fans, particularly by groups of people using public spaces to celebrate without being mindful of the costs of cleaning up afterwards.
“It’s understandable that people wanted to have a few drinks,” said Mark Hall, Communications Director at BusinessWaste.co.uk, “but the cost of cleaning these areas can really stretch waste management budgets.
“It has a real knock-on effect for local authorities.”
Bars and pubs are too struggling with the excess waste generated by football fans, with some venues having reported as much as four times the amount of their usual weekly waste.
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According to BusinessWaste.co.uk, last night alone, England will of discarded:
150,000 plastic pint glasses
200,000 kebab and takeaway trays
100,000 pizza boxes
150,000 England flags
One million glass bottles
With the game going to extra time and penalties, this also meant that an extra £10,000 would have been added to each local council’s street cleaning bill – as anxious fans grabbed a few more drinks and a takeaway to settle their nerves.
Mark Hall continue: “As a nation, we were all looking forward to watching England play in the final – however, it won’t just be fans waking up with a hangover today.
“Companies, waste collection teams and local councils will also have a costly environmental hangover to deal with.”
Featured Image – Twitter
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Manchester band Westside Cowboy release ‘thrilling’ debut album that critics are calling one of the year’s best
Emily Sergeant
One of the UK’s best rising bands have released their debut album today to glowing reviews from critics and fans alike.
Jimmy Bradbury, Reuben Haycocks, Aoife Anson O’Connell, and Paddy Murphy – better known together as Westside Cowboy – formed back in 2023 when they were students at the Royal Northern College of Music, so while they may not all be from Manchester, they definitely have the spirit of our city at the heart of everything they do.
After playing in different bands across the city throughout their student years, the four-piece joined forces to create Westside Cowboy – an indie rock collective credited with self-coining the genre of ‘Britainicana’.
Put simply, Britainicana is a cultural concept that mixes the hazy, mythic feel of American country and folk, with the sound of raw British punk, indie rock, and small-town life.
Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On / Credit: Clementine Schniedermann (Press Shots – Supplied)
If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you’ll be pleased to know that Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On, to the world today (21 August).
And the reception from critics, arguably, couldn’t be better.
Prior to the release of their debut album, the band had released two EPs, including So Much Country ‘Till We Get There in January earlier this year, and had started to make a name for themselves with their popular debut single ‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Until I Met You)’ in 2024.
They went onto make even further waves when they supported equally-rising American rock band Geese on their UK and Irish tour back in March – with many fans calling it one of the best support and main act combinations in some time.
Three singles from their debut album were shared with the world ahead of its release – ‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’ came first, followed by ‘Pin Up Boys’ and ‘Dobro’.
So, it’s fair to say the anticipation for album was high… and if the reviews are anything to go by (which we think they are), it looks like the band has very much delivered what they set out to achieve.
Westside Cowboy’s debut album It Goes On is now available to stream, or you can purchase a physical copy in a range of formats from their website here.
Take a listen👇
Featured Image – Press Shot (Supplied)
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UK set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn
Emily Sergeant
The UK is being told to brace for a series of storms this autumn when the ‘unprecedented’ El Niño weather event arrives.
It’s already been a summer of extremes for the country, with multiple heatwaves over the past couple of months, but now it appears that autumn and winter are set to have some extremes of their own, as the Met Office is warning that this upcoming El Niño could be one of the most significant in recent memory.
El Niño is declared when sea temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rise 0.5°C above the long-term average, which therefore impacts global rainfall patterns and average temperatures.
The natural warming of sea temperatures is forecast to reach more than 3°C in the coming months, according to the Met Office, making this year’s weather event have the potential to be ‘the largest since the 19th century’.
The UK is set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn / Credit: Johannes Plenio (via Unsplash)
El Niño will create a heightened risk of drought in the tropics, southern Africa, and north eastern Australia, but over in north western Europe – including the UK – it means we are likely to experience wetter and stormier conditions.
The UK, and of course Greater Manchester, is absolutely no stranger to a storm around this time of year, but forecasters say this could be an entirely different beast.
“We should be clear that this is an unprecedented event,” warned Professor Adam Scaife, who is the Head of Long Range Forecasting at the Met Office.
“I have never seen an El Nino signal this intense in our forecasts.”
Professor Scaife concluded: “A typical El Nino leads to an equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperature rise of between one to 2°C, with 2°C being a really big event. This implies that, if the forecast is accurate, and other forecast systems show similar extreme values, then 2026 will far exceed our recent experience of El Niño and its worldwide climate influences.’
Forecasters and officials, however, have warned that it could take months of sustained rainfall before rivers, reservoirs, and groundwaters are ‘completely replenished’ – which is when a drought can officially be declared as over.
It also warned drought conditions could persist into the new year as, despite El Niño, as current forecasts do not suggest this autumn will have the amount of rainfall needed to drive recovery.